Fonts For Low Vision Readers

These days, people with low vision have more and more material to read. As our population of senior citizens grows, information previously available only in small print is now commonly prepared in large print. We need to pay attention to how we format material, whether in hard copy or electronic media, to give readers with low vision optimum comfort and greater efficiency.

Studies by Drs. Mansfield, Legge, and Bane at the University of Minnesota show that certain fonts provide significant advantages to readers who have low vision, as well as to those with normal vision. These researchers tested readers using fixed-width fonts, variable-width fonts (proportional), serif (with tails and curlicues) and sans serif fonts to see how they affected reading speeds and acuities. They found that people with low vision had higher reading speeds and better reading acuities when they used sans serif fonts with fixed width. Although differences in speed and acuities were smaller than for the low-vision group, they found the same to be true for readers with normal vision. They concluded that "choice of font could make a significant difference in both normal and low-vision reading performance."1

A Few Simple Rules:
When you prepare material, you can enhance reading performance by observing a few simple rules. These rules hold true for both people with low vision and those with normal vision. The benefits may be appreciated more by low-vision readers. These rules are:

1. Employ fonts without serifs (APHont, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica).
2. Employ fonts with a fixed width (APHont, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica).
3. Use bold letters whenever possible.
4. Use APHont, Verdana, Arial, or Helvetica as the default font in electronic media.
5. Be sure to provide good contrast between the background color and the print color. (Black on white is good, but for many readers white on black--or yellow on black is better.)
6. Make sure the print size is large enough for your reader to use comfortably.

Fancy fonts and italics may look attractive to you. For the reader with low vision, however, they can be confusing and sometimes impossible to read. When preparing materials for readers with low vision, a simple rule of thumb is: the simpler, the bolder, the better.

1 Mansfield, J. Stephen, Gordon E Legge, and Marc C. Bane. "Psychophysics of reading. XV. Font effects in normal and low vision." Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. July, 1996.

This article by Elaine Kitchel was reprinted from Technology Update 14 (Fall-Winter 1998): 29-30. Updated 8/2002 (APHont added)

APHont: A Font for Low Vision

APHont (pronounced Ay'-font), was developed by APH specifically for low vision readers.

APHont embodies characteristics that have been shown to enhance reading speed, comprehension, and comfort for large print readers. The entire APHont Suite (Regular, Bold, Italic, and Italic Bold) is available free-of-charge on the APH web site.

Features:

• Higher crossbars.
  
• No serifs.
  
• Wider letters.
  
• Heavier letters.
  
• Letters more open
  
• Larger punctuation marks.

NOTE: APH makes no claim that APHont is an appropriate font for children who are just learning to read.

How to Request APHont

Before downloading APHont, users must validate that APHont will be used by or for visually impaired persons. Visit www.aph.org/products/aphont.html to fill out a short verification form. You will then be able to download the font.

Click this link for instructions on using APHont on a Mac.